Defense secretary's undisclosed hospitalization draws new internal investigation

The Defense Department inspector general said Thursday it will investigate the mishandling of Lloyd Austin’s recent hospitalization, which the Pentagon chief and others close to him kept secret for days in an apparent breach of protocol after he developed serious complications from prostate cancer surgery.

Robert Storch, the inspector general, disclosed the review in a memo to Austin, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and other officials, saying his office would begin its work this month.

“The objective of the review is to examine the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities, and actions related to the Secretary of Defense’s hospitalization in December 2023-January 2024, and assess whether the DoD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership,” Storch wrote.

The independent review will be conducted in addition to a 30-day assessment directed by Austin’s office and a parallel review ordered by the White House, which along with Congress and the American public was left in the dark for days about Austin’s illness.

Storch said in his memo on Thursday that his team will perform its work “at the Office of the Secretary of Defense,” but “may identify additional offices and personnel who might have information relevant to our review.”

Austin, a 70-year-old retired Army general, was taken by ambulance to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 and placed in intensive care after suffering complications from a surgery on Dec. 22 to remove his prostate, Pentagon officials disclosed this week. But the secretary’s health crisis was not disclosed to some senior aides until Jan. 2. The White House did not learn of it until Jan. 4, a stunning gap in communication in a premier job overseeing U.S. national security.

The Pentagon disclosed the hospitalization to Congress and the American public a day later, and waited until Tuesday to disclose his cancer diagnosis and what led to his hospitalization - more than a week after Austin arrived at Walter Reed. Doctors said in a statement released by the Defense Department that he was suffering from a urinary tract infection, a backup of his small intestines, and the collection of fluid in his abdomen.

That disclosure led to the realization that Austin had not informed Biden of his cancer diagnosis or surgery to treat it, either. John Kirby a spokesman for the National Security Council, called the situation “suboptimal,” but said Biden stands by Austin and wants him to heal and remain his defense secretary.

Pentagon officials have struggled to explain why they failed to notify the White House of Austin’s extended hospitalization for days. His chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, was sick with the flu, said a Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, but several other senior aides also knew a day after Austin was admitted and said nothing.

Austin’s office this week announced that it would conduct a 30-day review of what went wrong and look to improve. Austin also has taken full responsibility for not disclosing the hospitalization, saying in a statement Saturday that he would “commit to doing better.”

“I am very glad to be on the mend,” Austin said, “and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon.”